The Great Barclay Fire

The usual early-morning serenity of Haverford College was shattered on April 15, 1946 as the sirens of four local fire companies invaded the campus. Students awoke to find the 110-foot tall tower that once loomed atop Barclay Hall awash in flames. Richard Whitall `46, a resident of the tower apartments awoke at 5 a.m. to the sound of crashing timbers as the structure began to burn. He and his two roommates were able to escape down a fire ladder into a third-floor window, from which they proceeded to sound the alarm. Richard Rivers `47, a first floor dweller, told his story to The Haverford News the day after. "My two roommates and I were sound asleep when we heard a buzzing sound, which I afterwards found out was the dormitory fire alarm. One of my roommates tried to turn off the alarm clock, but soon found out he was wrong in his surmise. I looked outside and found that there was a vertical column of sparks and burning chips falling from outside." Rivers ran upstairs armed with a fire extinguisher, but the flames forced he and the other novice student fire fighters to beat a hasty retreat. Firefighters arrived on the scene shortly thereafter, and subdued the blaze. Three fireman were overcome by smoke, and water had to be pumped up from the Duck Pond to make up for the inadequacy of the lone available fire hydrant.

The aftermath was grim. The smoldering tower had been gutted by the blaze. The expelled residents streamed back into Barclay to salvage whatever they could; Jack Hoopes `48, Corson Jones `48 and Dan Wagner `47 lost all their possessions when the ceiling of their third-floor room collapsed. Rather than rebuild the gothic tower, the College decided to add a fourth floor where the spire once rose. And the cause? Was it Mrs. O'Leary's clumsy cow? One story attributes it to Christmas lights strung up by tower residents hoping to create an amorous environment for potential dates. Probably only the Barclay ghost knows the truth.